A surfer enters the water at sunrise at Sumner Beach as level four COVID-19 restrictions are eased in Christchurch, New Zealand, Tuesday, April 28, 2020. New Zealand eased its strict lockdown restrictions to level three at midnight to open up certain sections of the economy but social distancing rules will still apply.
A surfer enters the water at sunrise at Sumner Beach as level 4 COVID-19 restrictions are eased in Christchurch, New Zealand, Tuesday, April 28, 2020. New Zealand eased its strict lockdown restrictions to level 3 at midnight to open up certain sections of the economy but social distancing rules will still apply. AssociatedPress
Herb Scribner
By Herb Scribner

Researchers said genes of a specific organism showed marks of an earthquake that happened hundreds of years ago.

What’s happening:

  • Scientists revealed in a new research paper — publish in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B last week — that bull kelp genes showed signs of an earthquake 800 years ago.
  • The earthquake had been “part of the ocean floor (that) rose upward and wiped out its inhabitants. That made way for newcomers of a different genetic background, the ancestors of today’s kelp,” according to The New York Times.
  • This could suggest that scientists can see major changes to environment by studying the genes of organisms.
  • The scientists said they wanted to see what happened to kelp after major earthquakes. So they took samples of kelp along a shore where there had been an earthquake 800 years prior. They reviewed the genetics and found differences in where the kelp had been collected. Those kelp that had been tossed into the air during the earthquake looked genetically different than those that hadn’t.
View Comments

Read more about the study at The New York Times.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.